Saturday, October 22, 2016

Southside Virginia

I have spent the day today working on the organization of my many files and piles.  It was a gorgeous day, but just a touch cold and the first day this fall (except for the one or two days of rain) that I have not been lured outside.  One of the books that I found among my piles and files is Southside Virginia Families by John Bennett Boddie Vol I.  I find that it is available to read on-line, so perhaps it is a bit of money that I didn't need to spend.  But since it is in my hands, I thought I might take a look.  First question is what is Southside Virginia?  I turned to Wikipedia to answer that:

Traditionally, the term Southside refers to the portion of Virginia east of the Blue Ridge Mountains and south of the James River, the geographic feature from which the term derives its name.[1]

Southside of Virginia
During the colonial era, Southside was considered the area where entrepreneurs settled, as opposed to some of the more established families in the Tidewater counties, although many early Southside settlers were younger sons of established Tidewater families.
Today, however, some people use a more limited definition of the region: those counties lying east of the Blue Ridge, west of the fall line, and south of the James River. That is to say, the southern end of Virginia's Piedmont region. While this definition describes an area long considered to be the heart of Southside, it also accounts for changes that have occurred in recent decades as the Richmond suburbs have eaten up large portions of Chesterfield and even Powhatan Counties.
While Southside has long been reputed for its isolated, rural, and culturally conservative character, in recent years the aforementioned counties have become increasingly linked to the Richmond metro area. Counties often considered part of this region include PatrickHenryBedfordPittsylvaniaHalifaxCharlotteMecklenburgCampbellLunenburgBrunswickNottowayAmeliaPrince EdwardAppomattoxBuckinghamCumberlandPowhatanDinwiddie, and Greensville counties. The cities of DanvilleEmporiaLynchburg, and Martinsville, which under Virginia law are not located within any counties, are also considered to be in this region.

There was information about a Wooten family and also the Jordan family, but nothing that was helpful for my research.  I will donate this book as it is available via the internet.